http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zephaniah+1&version=NIV

ZEPHANIAH

Zephaniah is yet another powerful prophesy of the coming judgment of God and the ultimate redemption of His people. A holy God cannot tolerate sin, and it is especially troubling when that sin is committed by those who claim to know Him and keep His ways. Israel’s fate is a foregone conclusion; their waywardness has earned them God’s wrath. If this were the end of the story, Israel would have nothing to hope for. However, God does not allow this to be the end of the story. Zephaniah makes it clear that His plan of redemption for His people will not be thwarted. Ultimately, repentance will come, the punishment will cease, and the faithful will be restored.

Under the new covenant of Jesus Christ, we understand that God works His redemption with each of us individually. However, it’s difficult to say that He still does not render judgment upon us collectively much in the way He dealt with Israel. As I witness the daily headlines in the news, I seriously worry about how out of step our nation is becoming with respect to God’s ways and the consequences that will affect all of us if the nation strays. We as a church must take every opportunity to show our nation and its leaders the wisdom in seeking God’s will. To do this, we ourselves must boldly and without apology live our lives according to God’s will. And most importantly, we must speak the truth in love. If there can only be one single defining attribute of a Christian, it must be love. It must be love. It must, it must be love.

Chad